Stepanova & Bukin first
Bolero, a new arrangement
twizzles have that off balance/off axis look
droning sounds
with flamenco wood heel sounds and Arabic (pseudo Arabic?) singing
the first lift is very dramatic with him doing arm motions in it
finally bolero
with clicks & pops and a drum machine
nice spin with unusual variations
smooth entry 2nd lift

her leg around his neck in rotational lift. He picks her up in a Biellmann and flips the loop formed by her leg & arm over his head. This is a "and how did you get there" kind of lift.
The choreo lift is cool ( jumps & kicks in final steps)

Hawayek & Baker finished second! Skating to Singing in the Rain.
animated, blithe, bouncy, Wow, that's how to skate to a movie musical
You'd think these kids had been together for years.
Great story-telling, great timing, just great over all
Except the spin.problems with the transition to the other foot, leading to not getting credit for the second half of the spin.
Two worries about the team. He's short. . They have come a long long way since just June!! The other is that he might not grow or she will. I hope they can stay together

3rd Morosova & Zhirnov skating to Tristan & Isolde
Trouble with first lift and one step lev 2.
In celtic pale green
dramatic flourishing
wonky twizzly entrance better later
ok stumble level 2
real nasty entrance to lift one
they don't whip smoothly into thiese lifts
Nice Spin. Really nice and goes with the music
and drama in it too
rotational lift starts well bvut has awkward exit
this boy is not as good as the girl
he does not have secure feet in lifts
curved lift is verging on serpentine, and if so, not sure how it gets called.

4th overall Bruser & Lum skating to Pirates of the Caribbean
Interruption in excess: -1.00 Falls: -2.00 Dressed like the movie
swashbuckling, daring, exuberant
twizzles very fast applause
they are pushing for speed
And sometimes that leads to disaster, especially near the end of the program
slow part is nice
spin travelled and blew it in the second part
nice energy in the final f/w sequence
fell in a rotational lift, the typical one with the girl's leg on the guy's shoulder. She did not get her leg secure, they over balanced and both fell. Then it took quite a while for them to get reorganized and start skating again.

Thanks for your comments, Doris. I completely agree with you about Hawayek/Baker. I first saw him (and liked him a lot) as an intermediate and am very glad he was able to find a new partner. I forget how old he is. I hope his growing days are not over as I noticed the size issue as well. I also noticed he is now sans ponytail. When did that happen?

Team Russia did amazingly well at this GP. Probably the location was some kind of extra trigger: took 10 spots from 24 (1-Men, 2- Ladies, 3- Pairs, 4- Dance). With 6 spots- to US, 3- to Japan, 3- to Canada, 2- to China, 1- to France.